Chapter 322: She Lost Consciousness

Axel slammed the brakes before the car had fully stopped, asphalt skidding beneath the tires. He was out before the engine finished its growl.

The wind carried smoke, the metallic stench of wreckage, and something far more sinister…fear.

His heart sank like a stone dropped into an abyss.

Team Two’s vehicles were scattered along the roadside, doors open, men on alert.

One of the guards approached him with panic barely contained.

“Sir…”

The guard’s voice cracked, but Axel didn’t hear anything beyond the hammering in his head.

He didn’t have the time, nor the space within his chest, to manage his anger.

Not yet.

Now, he needed to find Evelyn.

Everything else could burn.

“Where is she?” Axel’s voice was steady, too steady, like the final breath before a storm breaks.

The guard stiffened.

“I didn’t know her exact condition, sir. The car… There was an explosion at the bottom of the ravine.” He swallowed hard. “But I hear, Mrs. Knight, she managed to get out… before the blast.”

Axel turned, gaze snapping to the broken guardrail. The tire’s imprint was pushed outward, its tracks carving sharp lines into the asphalt… a brutal trail, unmistakably marking the path of a fall.

His chest tightened; every breath felt like stabbing him.

“Sir, this way…” the guard urged.

Axel moved, stalking forward like a shadow given purpose. “Liam arrived?”

Before the guard could answer, Liam emerged from below, climbing up the steep path. His usually calm face was drawn tight, eyes full of dread.

The look alone made Axel’s skin crawl.

Liam jogged toward him. “Boss. One of Team Two just checked the bottom. I have an update.”

“Report.” Axel stopped at the cliff’s edge.

He can see the terrain was rough… jagged and uneven, winding down the ravine’s side. Evelyn was down there. Somewhere. In incredible pain. He could feel it.

His legs were already moving before the report continued.

“Lady boss can’t walk,” Liam said, rushing to keep up, boots sliding slightly in the loose dirt. “Ryan can’t carry her out either; he’s also injured. The trail is too steep, and moving her risks further injury. And…” He paused.

Axel felt his blood turn to ice. “And what?”

Liam hesitated only a second. “She lost consciousness. Ryan says she’s in too much pain.”

Axel stopped. The world stopped with him.

His head turned slowly, eyes locking onto Liam like a blade against a throat. The darkness in his gaze was suffocating, rage, terror, agony tangled into something barely human.

“She is still breathing, boss.” Liam rushed. “Just weak. The medical team is on its way by helicopter… They will arrive in five or six minutes. She’s holding on—”

But Axel wasn’t listening anymore.

He ran.

No… But he flew.

The descent was harsh, but he didn’t care. Pebbles and soil slipped beneath his feet, branches clawed at his sleeves, but nothing slowed him. Liam chased after him, swearing under his breath.

“Boss! Please be careful! If you get hurt, she’ll kill me for letting you run like this! And also… she’ll scold you! You know she will!” he shouted, voice half-panicked, half-exasperated.

Axel didn’t respond.

He couldn’t.

He could barely breathe.

His pulse roared as the ravine expanded before him, the smell of burning fuel sharp in the air.

Smoke drifted up from the bottom, where the twisted metal of the car was burning… a blackened wreck that used to be the vehicle, a place where someone had wished his wife to be.

Minutes blurred before he reached a flatter patch of ground.

Guards were gathered, some creating a perimeter, others looking at Ryan kneeling, facing someone—

Axel’s heart stopped.

He saw Evelyn… She lay on the ground. Ryan knelt next to her with trembling hands and blood on his sleeves. The sight hit Axel right in the chest.

He tripped on the last step and dropped to his knees in front of her. His legs almost gave out, muscles protesting because he was so scared.

“Eve…” His voice cracked like something broken beyond repair.

Ryan scooted back, giving him space. “B-Boss, I’m so, so sorry. I failed to protect her—”

Axel didn’t hear him.

His trembling hand reached forward, hovering just short of her cheek.

Her skin looked so pale, almost translucent under the smoky light. A smear of blood trailed from her hairline down to her neck. He froze before he touched her.

If he touched her, this was real.

His gaze fell lower… and the breath was punched from his lungs.

Blood.

On her thigh.

On the ground.

Every heartbeat felt like a knife twisting inside him.

His wife. His pregnant wife.

His throat tightened. He swallowed, air barely making it into his lungs.

It should have been him.

His vision trembled. The world narrowed to the shape of her body curled in pain, her lips barely parted, her breath shallow, sounds uneasy.

She looked so small.

So breakable.

Axel leaned forward, his forehead nearly touching hers, a prayer clawing its way out of his chest.

“God, please…” he whispered, voice shaking. “Help her. Help my wife. Help our child. Please don’t take them. Not like this.”

His palm finally cupped her cheek, thumb trembling as it brushed her cool skin. She flinched at the touch, and the faint movement shattered him.

“Eve,” he breathed, voice shaking, barely audible. “I’m here. I’m here, my love. Hold on. The medic team is coming. Just hold on for me. For Oliver. Please.”

Her eyelashes fluttered. Slowly, painfully, her eyes cracked open, glazed with pain and fear.

When she saw him, her lips twitched. “A-Axel…” Her voice was barely a breath. “The baby… Axel, it hurt. I’m bleeding…I’m…sorry…”

His heart tore itself apart. His free hand found hers, gripping gently, terrified of hurting her but more terrified of letting go.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know, my love. Just keep breathing. I won’t let anything happen to you. To our baby. I swear it.”

His voice shook.

“I should have been with you. I should have—” His words choked, and he pressed his forehead to her hand. “Forgive me. I’m so sorry.”

His grip on Evelyn’s hand tightened as if he feared she might vanish from his sight.

Then he began to express his anger in his mind…

’They will beg to die before I am finished,’ he vowed in his heart, ’I will burn down their world. I will tear down everything they have ever loved. And when they scream for mercy, I will remind them…’

His inner voice dropped to a whisper of death.

’I do not forgive!’

Evelyn’s fingers twitched in his palm, grounding him. He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

“Just stay,” he pleaded. “Just stay with me. Please.”

Above them, the distant thrum of helicopter blades began to echo.

Help was coming.

But so was Axel’s vengeance.

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